The Tallest Man in the Woods
by Wolfgirl894
Summary: When Cynthia comes over to babysit her little cousin Julie, the pair receive an unexpected, and unwelcomed visitor. A short story written for my creative writing class, about the famous creepypasta Slenderman. Reviews are greatly welcomed :)


Cynthia was going to babysit her cousin Julia for her Aunt and Uncle out in rural Maryland, where they lived. She never really figured out why they loved the woods so much, it wasn't her style. But babysitting for her baby cousin was always enough to drag her all the way out from the city, her natural environment. She drove all the way from Annapolis to western Maryland, up around Deep Creek Lake. The small town was quaint and peaceful; peaceful enough to keep Cynthia's sanity in line. Her car was beginning to run low on gas, so she pulled up to the nearest gas station.

Opening the car door and letting her high heels click on the ground, she flattened her tight skirt with her soft hands decorated with red and pink nail polish. Flipping a strand of bright yellow hair out of the unbelievably low cleavage of her blouse, she took the nozzle of the gun-shaped device and stuck it into the tank of the car. She leaned against its sleek black exterior, just so happening to overhear some gossip between two middle-aged men.

"I just heard that the Frederic's lost their son last night, I think it was another abduction." "Ya think so?" asked the bearded man.

"I know so. Kids have been disappearing left and right around here lately. I know I wouldn't be surprised if another kid decided to get tossed up into this whole thing." He finished his sentence, taking out a cigarette.

"My grandson was the first to disappear. It's a shame, really." The man hung his head as if in defeat. Cynthia stared in horror at the two men, realizing that she might have the same trouble with Julia tonight, if she behaved.

After she finished filling up her gas tank, she closed the car's tank and jumped into her car, making her way up the steep slope of the mountain. By the time she got there, her Aunt and Uncle we're waiting at the doorstep.

"Aunt Janice! Uncle Herald!" Cynthia exclaimed in jubilee as she left her car and locked it on the curb. "Cynthia! Baby, it's so good to see you again! Thanks a bunch for babysitting Julia again."

"It's not a problem Aunty." they greeted each other giving small air hugs and light kisses. "I love looking after Julia."

"That's wonderful dear. Now we'll be home around midnight, so make sure you get her to bed by nine. She's already had dinner."

"Sure thing Aunty!" Cynthia was already making her way up the lumber steps to the porch before her Uncle could say to her "There have been some rumors going around here that children have been disappearing at night, I thought you should know."

"I do Uncle, thanks" her mood dampened a bit; she didn't want to be reminded of that awful thing she heard the two men talking about at the gas station. Her aunt scolded her uncle for saying that to her, and an argument ensued while they reached their car in the driveway. Cynthia stared at the familiar pair as they drove off into the distance till they couldn't be seen. Turning around and reaching for the knob, she felt a sharp chill run through her spine. She had no idea what it was, but she didn't want to stay in the nippy night air to find out; she stepped into the house.

"Cousin Cynthia!" a tiny tot raced across the hard wooden floors to give her favorite cousin a hug. Cynthia reached down and picked her up "Julie! How have you been cupcake?" She couldn't get over how big little Julia grew at age four. Her small purple dress rode up her butt as Cynthia held her, it made Julia squirm around in her arms a bit to find a comfortable position. Setting her down, Julia began rambling on about her day.

"Mama bought me this pink candy today and it tasted like cotton candy! I wanted to feed it to Sparkles but she said that a parrot can't have candy." She began to lead her older cousin through the toy-strewn living room and over to Sparkles the parrot.

"And then I played in the forest today and saw a BILLION birds fly through the leaves! It was so cool!"

"Really? That sure is something Julie! So what do you wanna do now honey?" Cynthia asked, bending down to face her cute little cousin. She stroked a finger across her face to peel back her wispy black hair. "I wanna play with my toys outside tonight!"

"What? Why?" Cynthia was almost stunned by her statement; she knew that Julia would almost never drag her outdoors to play because she knew how much her older cousin hated it. But there was also the rumor that she overheard at the gas station. She couldn't stand the thought of leading her baby cousin outdoors at night.

"Because a really tall man lives out there and he comes to visit when mommy and daddy are asleep. I think he should meet more people! But I heard that Rosie plays with him too."

Rosie. She was Julia's best friend who lived a couple miles away from here. Do these children know something that the adults _should_ know about? "Julia, do mommy and daddy know about him?" Cynthia asked.

"Nope" Julia responded, almost in a gleeful manner.

"Then I don't think you should keep seeing this tall man. He might not be friendly for all I know."

"But he isn't!" the tot argued, crossing her arms and stomping her bare foot on the floor.

"How do you know? Has he done anything to you?" she questioned. "No, all we do is play hide and seek, he's really good at blending in with the trees, and he's so cool Cynthia! I want you to meet him!"

"Where can we meet him?" Cynthia asked. She really didn't want to meet this possible predator, but she only asked to amuse her cousin. She would report this to her Aunt and Uncle when they get home.

"Right there" Julia raised a finger toward the sliding glass door. The curtains we're partially open, but you could still see the serene nightly nature through there; except for that thing.

It _was_ a tall man, but he wasn't just tall, he had to be at least ten or twelve feet high. Cynthia couldn't make out the body well because of the dark suit he was wearing. The darkness seemed to be doing a good job at obscuring the suit because she couldn't see much of anything else lower than his face. She wished she could see anything else but his face, which was the most terrifying part. It was blank and pasty white. The older blonde wanted to scream, but she was so terrified she couldn't manage a single sound.

"Cynthia! That's him! That's the tall man!" unlike her terrified cousin, Julia seemed thrilled to see this monster. Picking up her favorite toys as swiftly as possible, she ran eagerly to the sliding glass door.

"Julia, NO!" before she was in her reach, Julia was about to open the sliding door. Cynthia plucked her from the ground before she could reach that monster.

Looking out the sliding glass door again, she noticed the tall thing grew closer. This let out a surprised shriek from Cynthia, who made her way through the house and out to her car. However, upon opening the front door, the tall thing was much closer to the car than she was. How the hell did this thing travel so fast?! Cynthia began to silently panic to herself while little Julia tried squirming out of her arms.

"Come on Cynthia let me go!" upon saying this, the tall man drew dangerously closer. Now she could make out his figure better now that it was under the porch light. He was surprisingly slender and built to be like the tallest man in the woods. But something writhing was poking out of his back. They weren't snakes, but they behaved like them. Except that they grew closer and closer to Julia. Cynthia screamed in terror, hoping that someone would hear her out in these rural woods. Sprinting back into the house and slamming the door behind her, she began to lock all the doors in the house. Julia kept protesting.

"Cynthia! He's not mean! He's always like this and you're making him angry! Lemme see him!" Cynthia was beginning to get tired of Julia defending the beast. Setting her down and looking straight at her, she replied "Julia, this thing, whatever it is, is NOT good. You shouldn't have tried getting to know this thing in the first place!"

"Why not? He was lonely and looked like he needed a friend. He looked friendly too! And he would always play with me at night. He's really fun!" while facing Cynthia, her expression slowly changed, as it seemed her focus was on something else. Cynthia knew what her favorite toddler was looking at, but she didn't dare turn around. She was afraid, no, more than afraid. She was terrified. How on earth did the thing get into the house?! Possibilities began running through her mind, but she tried to focus on the child she was protecting. Asking Julia, she spoke in a soft, slow and even voice.

"Julia, look at me. He's tricking you. Let's leave and-" before she could finish, she felt a powerful arm wrap around her waist like a snake ensnaring its victims. Cynthia began to scream, causing the tentacle-like appendage to move swifter than it did before. Struggling, screaming and flailing to no avail, the appendage kept her locked in place while more of them began to wrap around her own curvy figure. They drew her toward the man's empty face. Squirming like her cousin before, she was forced to look at him, so she shut her eyes so as not to stare at his inhuman head.

"Please, don't take Julia, she means everything to me and her parents! Spare her and take me instead. Please!" tears began to stream down her face, while the monster's remained as it was the entire time. Empty. Julia began to scream in protest at her cousin

"Cynthia! What are you doing?! Don't leave me!" she began to cry too. The monster, now surrounded by two crying girls, seemed indifferent to their feelings. They cried together. Cynthia, who was afraid of dying, and Julia in fear of Cynthia. Thus, the ethereal being gently extended his tentacle-like appendages towards Julia, picking her up with ease. She didn't struggle; she was too busy crying her heart out. Meanwhile he made his way out of the house and towards the woods.

Around midnight, the house and the surrounding forest seemed a safe, serene scene. Julia's parents pulled into their driveway. Leaving the safety of their car, they were not expecting their gruesome surprise near them. Uncle Herald was the first to notice the opened front door. Rushing inside to see if his niece and daughter we're still there, his wife shrieked in terror outside. He came back out accosting her with celerity.

"Honey, what's wrong?!" he asked in an almost panicked manner. She replied.

"Something killed them! Out there! Oh God!" Janice summarily made her way back into the house to call the police, leaving Uncle Herald to investigate.

"Cynthia?! Julia?!" he called out into the woods. Not far from him, a faint moan could be heard behind a tree. Dashing across the forest floor, his eyes adjusted to a truly gruesome scene he wished he never saw. Entrails, blood and limbs littered the ground, bushes and occasional patches of grass. He managed to drag out whatever was left of Cynthia, which wasn't that much. He stared in terror at his blood-soaked niece, who conveniently lost the lower half of her body and an arm. Her head was still intact and seemed unharmed, but she struggled to stay alive. Her uncle asked her.

"Cynthia, Wh-what happened?!" he asked desperately.

She could only manage to whisper one phrase before she died.

"It…that thing…stole her…I'm sorry."


End file.
